Cory Booker for Senate Files With FEC

Newark mayor hasn't made his candicacy official yet.

Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker hasn’t officially thrown his hat into the ring for a Senate seat, but he is getting closer.

“Cory Booker for Senate” officially filed with the Federal Election Commission this week. Booker has said he’s exploring a Senate run but has tried to make overtures to Sen. Frank Lautenberg, the Democratic incumbent who has shown no signs of wanting to retire.

“I want to give him the space to make his own decision. I’ve announced my intention to run, but the reality is, we’ve got a good senator,” Booker said on CNN.

While individuals in exploratory mode don’t have to file with the FEC, some do so that they can disclose their expenses as they go along. Otherwise, once they’re official candidates, they have to go back and disclose past expenditures they made while testing the waters.

According to a Fairleigh Dickinson University survey released this week, 42 percent of Democrats and left-leaning independents would prefer Booker over Lautenberg in a Democratic primary, while 20 percent would prefer Lautenberg over Booker.